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Lesson Five: Families in the Mansion

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Lesson Five: Families in the Mansion Lesson Five: Families in the Mansion Objectives Students will be able to: ¾ Understand the purpose and function of the original mansion built on the corner of 16th and H Streets, Sacramento ¾ Explain the lives of the private families who lived in the mansion ¾ Describe life at the mansion from the perspective of the governors and their families who lived there Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park – California State Parks Student Handout: Lesson Five—Pre-Tour Activity 1 The Thirteen Governors and Their Families Governor George Pardee, Helen Newhall Penniman Pardee and Family Republican 1903-1907 George Pardee, known to be thoughtful, kind, quiet, reserved, and a good thinker, was born in San Francisco in 1857 and grew up in Oakland. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, he joined his father’s medical practice, specializing in diseases of the eye and ear. Interested in his community and politics, Dr. Pardee was mayor of Oakland from 1893-95. Elected governor in 1902, his was the first California governor’s family to live in the mansion at 16th and H Streets. After moving into the mansion, the Pardees added an office that had a stairway and entrance from the outside so visitors would not disturb the family. Governor Pardee is remembered for the personal direction that he provided in rebuilding San Francisco after the earthquake of April 18, 1906. He was the first governor to request and get federal aid for a natural disaster. George and Helen Pardee met when they attended Oakland High School and graduated together in 1875. When they moved into the mansion their family included four daughters: Florence was 15; Madeline, 14; Carol, 12; and Helen, 8. Mrs. Pardee’s sister, Miss Marietta (Aunt Etta) Penniman, supervised the girls and the home when the parents were away. Delia Malloy, a young Irish housekeeper, helped Aunt Etta. The southern cook, Leona, prepared food for the family and their many unexpected guests. The gardener Olaf cared for the horse, Lady Jane, and the carriages. The girls had a variety of pets—two dogs, a cat, a parrot, a lamb, and a chipmunk that would hide in the draperies. The Pardees entertained with concerts, card games, and Thursday afternoon gatherings with tea and cookies. One time the governor entertained his classmates from the University of California Glee Club, hosting them for a meal and an overnight stay. Young Helen and her friends formed the Puritan Club and planned a children’s fair in the basement to raise money for the new Sacramento Children’s Home. Florence played tennis, Madeline practiced her piano lessons on the Steinway piano, and Carol liked to sew. They enjoyed roller skating on the newly- cemented floor in the basement. When Governor Pardee went to the Bay Area to help recovery efforts after the San Francisco earthquake, Mrs. Pardee and the children stayed in Sacramento and rolled bandages for the injured victims. After several months the governor returned to Sacramento, and the girls were shocked that his black beard had turned gray. That fall, when a new governor was elected, the family took their personal belongings—half a train car load—and moved back to Oakland. Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park — California State Parks Student Handout: Lesson Five—Pre-Tour Activity 1 Governor James Gillett, Isabella Erzgraber Gillett and Family Republican 1907-1911 James Gillett was born in 1860 in Wisconsin. When he migrated to California, the six-foot-tall, 240-pound lawyer settled in Eureka. Although he was elected governor with the support of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Governor Gillett called for railroad reforms. He is known as the father of the modern highways because of his leadership in providing financial support for highway improvements. He started California government reforms and set the foundation for the election of the next governor, Hiram Johnson. James Gillett’s first wife, Adelaide Pratt, died in 1896, leaving him with two daughters, Effie and Ethel, and a son, Horace, who died in early childhood. Then in May 1898, he married Isabella Erzgraber and they had a son, James, Jr. When Governor and Mrs. Gillett moved into the mansion, James, Jr. was six years old. Young James loved to slide down the curving banister while his father clapped and his mother looked on with dismay. He also liked the big stable, where he could play with pet chickens and keep out of the way of the carriages and horses. In later years he would remember playing army in the area under the front steps that he used as a fort against an imaginary invading enemy. His weapons were sour oranges collected from the trees in the neighborhood. Isabella Gillett was worried for her son’s safety, and it turned out she was right. A San Quentin prisoner planned to have James, Jr. kidnapped. The convict hoped to gain a pardon for his crime upon returning the kidnapped boy. However, the plot was discovered in time. News of the plot upset James, Jr.’s half-sisters who were students at Stanford University. The girls spent most of their time at school, but they came home to the mansion for summer vacations. Ethel Gillett announced her engagement to Sidney G. Thorp in 1911 at a tea in the mansion. Young James, Jr. frequently had asthma attacks. So that he could sleep in fresh air, the porch above the mansion’s 16th Street entrance was made into a sleeping porch. This was next to the governor’s bedroom. If James, Jr. had trouble breathing, his father was nearby to help him. Isabella Gillett made other changes to the mansion. She redecorated the formal parlor into an elegant orchid and white room that complemented the white marble fireplace. Besides entertaining guests and taking care of young James, Mrs. Gillett wrote poetry and was an excellent pianist. She played the Steinway piano frequently. Her book of poems, “Gleanings and Weavings,” was published in 1922. Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park — California State Parks Student Handout: Lesson Five—Pre-Tour Activity 1 Governor Hiram Johnson, Minnie McNeal Johnson and Family Republican 1911-1917 Hiram Johnson, born in Sacramento in 1866, was short, stocky and red-faced. After attending the University of California at Berkeley for three years, he left to study law and establish his practice in Sacramento. In 1910 he ran for governor on an anti-railroad platform and toured the state in a red Locomobile, a steam powered automobile, with the slogan “Kick the Southern Pacific out of Politics.” He won the election, and Californians reelected him governor in 1914. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate where he served until his death in 1945. Although he was controversial, Governor Johnson got things done. He enacted the initiative, referendum, and recall procedures. Because he rallied for women’s rights, California was the sixth state to allow women to vote. Governor Johnson, who had grown up in Sacramento, was not excited about moving into the mansion because of its bats. He relied on his wife, Minnie, to make the mansion livable. She called in the “pest eradicators” to get rid of the bats. Then she called interior decorators from San Francisco and the whole house was modernized. All the mahogany woodwork in the mansion was painted gray to blend with the wallpaper. The brown Italian marble fireplace in the living room was also painted gray. The library was papered in gold, draped in purple, and carpeted in gray with purple bands. The furniture was upholstered in plum-colored velour, as it remains today. Minnie Johnson wanted a new bathroom so she converted the nursery area on the second floor. The biggest challenge, however, was the carriage house. It became a place for the recently-invented gas engine automobile and housed their Locomobile. Instead of a stable man, the Johnsons had a driver. Their two sons, Hiram, Jr. and Archibald, were grown and lived in San Francisco. But there was one person at the mansion who had been a lifelong member of the household—a cook of Chinese descent nicknamed “Joey Johnson.” Que Hong, another Chinese man, was employed as a housekeeper. Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park — California State Parks Student Handout: Lesson Five—Pre-Tour Activity 1 Governor William Stephens, Flora Rawson Stephens and Family Republican 1917-1923 William Stephens was born in Ohio in 1859, but moved to California when he was 11 years old. He was a tall man with twinkling eyes and a ready smile. Before entering politics, he was a teacher and a successful grocery store owner. Because he was governor during World War I, he was known as the war governor. He is remembered for making special proclamations, such as Go to Sunday School Sunday, Ripe Olive Day, and Order Sunday. It was during his administration that women became members of the legislature for the first time in California history. He studied law and received his degree from the University of Southern California after becoming governor. For the first year the governor and his wife Flora had the entire mansion to themselves. Their only daughter, Barbara, was living on Mare Island while her husband, U.S. Marine Corps officer Randolph T. Zane, was overseas during World War I. However, Major Zane was killed in action in France in 1918, and Barbara and her five-year-old daughter, Marjorie, came to live at the mansion. A room for Marjorie was built from the west bedroom on top of the north porch. By pulling a window forward, the front appearance of the home was not greatly changed.
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